It has been a longstanding problem in the heating and cooling of homes and offices to efficiently regulate the ambient temperature of a medium to maintain the desired comfort level, while minimizing the amount of energy expended by the heating/cooling apparatus. The heating/cooling needs of a home or office are not constant over time and may, in fact, vary substantially depending on the time of day or day of the week. Conventional mechanical thermostats have been highly inefficient in this regard due to the fact that their mechanical components are may be inaccurate or may lose their precision over time.
In response to this, digital thermostats were developed in the prior art that utilize electronic systems and components that increase the reliability and accuracy of the thermostat over time. Such thermostats typically include one or more buttons for setting the set point temperature in a microprocessor, logic board, or other electronic component.
They may also include an electronic display for providing information to the user, such as the set point temperature, the ambient temperature, date, time, etc. They may also include other elements, such as a switch for setting the thermostat in heating or cooling mode, for example. The configuration of a digital thermostats may be found, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. D403,972 and D319,403.
Programmable thermostats have also been developed in the prior art that allowed for the programming of multiple set points for the thermostat, such as during different time periods based upon the time of day or day of the week. These programmable thermostats utilize a microprocessor or other electronic circuit into which the user inputs the desired temperature setting information by way of a keypad or some other arrangement of buttons and switches.
Such thermostat are only mountable, however, in one position or configuration. Users do not have any options as to how the thermostat is mounted. Accordingly, it would be beneficial to provide a digital or programmable that may be mounted in multiple positions.